Chase Goldman

Wow, that sounds tedious. The separation and unmasking provided by the Equinox is supposed to work WITHOUT having to do that, but I may be misunderstanding what you are actually doing with your pinpointer.

Sounds like a challenging site for your first run with the 600 as old homesites have a lot of iron. A milk run park or beach coin hunt would be advised to get used to the tones. But if this is an opportunity/permission not to be missed, I agree with the advice to keep it in Park 1 or 2. Let me give you a quick rundown on the two modes so you can make your own call. Whichever mode you choose, I advise sticking with it for the entire hunt and avoid the temptation to "mode hop". Even though both modes are called "Park" they set up very differently and the underlying Multi IQ is optimised for different types of targets though either mode should snag a good variety of target types. As result, if you switch between the modes too much before you are used the machine, it is like switching between two different detectors because they behave so differently. No need to learn two detectors at once. If you are feeling confident in your abilities with the machine, then by all means try out more than one mode, but definitely, do not do it because you are NOT feeling confident in the original mode you picked. Either should snag you keepers and should stick with the mode that brought you until you start hitting some keeper targets and gain confidence. Park 1 is a default 5-tone mode that is weighted to lower frequencies (the Multi IQ is still using the entire spectrum from 5 to 40 khz, but is "favoring" returns from the lower frequencies). This makes it optimized primarily for high conductors at depth but it WILL hit on mid-conductors also. It has a maximum recovery speed setting and a moderate iron bias filtering which helps with iron falsing (nail tips, larger, round iron) that can bleed through even if you have the iron range discriminated out (which is the default discrimination setting in this mode). Because of the iron bias filtering, this mode is less optimised than Park 2 for unmasking non-ferrous amongst iron. It is, however, a quiet and stable mode and a good "first time out" mode to get used to the machine. Park 2 is a default 50-tone mode that is weighted to higher frequencies and also maximum recovery speed. This makes it optimized for small, mid-conductive targets like brass, small lead, and gold. This is more of a relic hunter's mode but the 50 tones and the propensity for it to light up small trash items like aluminum, can make it a little daunting. There is also no iron bias filtering so you will also hear nail and round iron falsing (though the default discrimination cancels out the ferrous range just as it does on Park 1). For starting out, I would recommend dialing back to 5 tones, but I also do not like to recommend a mode that you need to modify from the defaults for a first run, so I am partial to Park 1 even though Park 2 might set up better for the experienced Equinox user at your site. You make the call as I cannot factor in your level of detecting experience and am not familiar with the machine you are coming over from (eTrac) other than you will be surprised at the speed of the Equinox vs. your eTrac. A recommended above, listen for repeatable, tones and don't get too caught up in TID numbers other than to note whether they are fairly stable (not bouncing by more than a couple points). Big bouncies and flutey tones typically indicate ferrous or even non-ferrous trash. Other pointers: The best thing you can do is get the machine stable and quiet. Maximizing signal-to-noise ratio is key, not maximizing signal gain (which also increases the noise floor). That means that once you have eliminated EMI and ground feedback noise to the extent practical by keeping your cell phone away from the control head (or better yet, putting it in airplane mode, if possible), running a noise cancel, and ground balancing as necessary, then don't be afraid to lower sensitivity, if necessary, to get the machine stable. Believe me, it is a hot machine and lowering sensitivity is not a handicap and in some cases can even enhance your detecting ability by increasing the overall signal-to-noise ratio and relative depth capability. Regarding ground balancing, Multi IQ is very forgiving on less than optimal ground balancing, so in 80 to 90% of detecting situations, you can probably get away with not ground balancing and just running the default. The main thing ground balancing does on this machine is lower ground feedback noise which you can hear if hit the horseshoe button to remove all discrimination and listen for iron falsing tones and TIDs of -9 to -7. Ground balancing is easy however so it just makes sense to do it at the beginning of your hunt then forget about it unless the site has a lot of mineralization, then you may want to periodically check it. In addition, to not mode hopping, try not to mess with the default settings, if possible, if you are learning the basics of a particular mode on the machine. At most, you can switch tones between 5 to 50 or vice versa if necessary, and only adjust recovery speed or iron bias if absolutely necessary. On the 600 you have less range of adjustment on these latter two parameters vs. the 800 so a single click change results in a significant change in response. Finally, if you do want to try more than one mode, the paradigm on this machine is a little different than most in that you really do need to treat each mode as a separate detector. This also means that each mode needs to be separately noise canceled and ground balanced (because each mode uses different frequency combinations which affect both of these settings). You will notice that the noise cancel channel selection and even the ground balance reading for Park 1 and 2 will be different even if you are standing in the same place when you set up each mode. Good luck and happy hunting.

Last I checked, they were not giving money to the the Federal Government (that's what subsidizing the US military would actually mean), so I think it's okay. Similar to the local car dealerships giving veteran discounts on their Hondas, Toyotas, and Volkswagons. But I am sure US veterans are appreciative that you are concerned enough to ponder the legalities of targeted discounts to those that have served (no one wants to be getting into trouble) and whatever bearing it has on your present and future 800 purchase. Thanks for sharing.

And Dr. Tones

Yep, see below from p.55 of the manual. Short Answer: WM08 = 17ms BT APTX LL = 40 ms BT = ~100+ ms Wi-Stream Technology Wi-Stream uses efficient low-power digital audio transmission to achieve the non-perceivable audio time lag of 17 ms between EQUINOX and the WM 08 Wireless Module. For the fastest possible wireless audio, use the WM 08 Wireless Audio Module*. aptX™ Low Latency Technology aptX™ Low Latency technology is faster than standard Bluetooth, with a delay of 40 ms, giving a faster detection response. Minelab ML 80* headphones use aptX™ Low Latency technology, and will deliver faster audio than standard Bluetooth® headphones. Bluetooth® Technology Any standard Bluetooth® headphones or earbuds can be used with an EQUINOX Series detector. However, Bluetooth® technology has a high audio latency of 100 ms. This can make it difficult to visualise the exact position of a buried target if you are detecting with a fast swing rate.

Yep. That's exactly how I use it. Very convenient. A back button on the menu system would be a welcome add, otherwise.

True, but I notice that even though the H4's are Amazon Prime, you are dealing with a 3rd party distribution outfit called "Patozon" (lol) which means I have to deal with them first and then Amazon, if I don't get satisfaction, so a hassle all around if I decide to roll the dice and lose again. Pass. Sorry MPOW but you bobbled this one. Thanks Steve and Phrunt for the additional info, I'll post back with the resolution to the saga.

Beauty Seated Dime, she's looking pretty for a 180 year old and the flat button are both nice keepers. Can't hazard a guess on that first item. For relic hunting, its between Park 2 and Field 2 for me, but I am partial to Field 2 at default settings and perpetually keep it in my User Profile slot for quick recall into service. Otherwise, I set the machine to either Park 2 or Field 2, either with perhaps little iron bias cranked in depending on site conditions and can then interrogate targets with and without iron bias filtering to see if that tells me anything. Great saves, Cal.

The MPOWs I received from ALI EXPRESS were not APTX-LL either. In fact, I have my doubts as to whether they are even APTX based on a comparison of latency between the MPOWs and a pair of APTX (non-LL) earbuds that I have. The MPOWs definitely had more latency than even the APTX earbuds (and there is no comparison to the ML/Miccus APTX LL phones). Too bad because I like the overall design of the MPOWs because of the extra audio features I can use with my phone or music and also because of the better tactile feel of the control buttons vs. the ML/Miccus when detecting. True Steve (and thanks for the detailed CSR8670 chip info), but the MPOW marketing materials on Amazon look similar to the ones on Ali Express, with all three (Ali Express, Amazon "original" H4 and "[Upgraded]" H4) advertising the CSR8670 chip and Low Latency. I know that they must make a LL version since Phrunt has a pair but since they all say CSR8670 and are coming from multiple, different distributors, with and without LL compatibility, I don't want to play roulette hoping I get an LL pair. Also, why is MPOW telling Elf that they are not LL and revising their website material (from what I can see, it is still advertising LL), so huh? The whole thing makes no sense to me and is a show, frankly. Hope I can get my money back.

So are you getting your money back? Do you have to ship them back?

Bluetooth does not allow more than one device to be hooked up, you can only hook up multiple WM08's, though you can hook up both wired and BT wireless headphones at the same time.

I agree with just about everything you said and speculated on. Regarding ML's "two-detector" plan, I think that if you already did not buy into the eTrac or CTX deep, accurate, but slow FBS game, there is very little chance you are going to go from Equinox and seriously purchasing either of those detectors because you feel that the Equinox is just not cutting it in some manner. The same logic probably holds for XP Deus. However, I have perceived (I don't have objective evidence to support this claim) more hard core Deus users hanging on to their Deus after the Equinox purchase and while more hard core BBS/FBS users putting their older BBS/FBS machines up for sale after getting their hands on the Equinox. Also, even if it was not their intent to kill their own, I do not see how keeping the CTX at its existing price point is sustainable from a business perspective with Equinox in existence. BTW - I have and will hold on to my GPX 4800 for hard core relic hunting in hot soil and will alternate between my Equinox and HF Deus for general relic hunting depending on specific conditions. Equinox will now become my go-to beach/surf/water machine. Those three detectors will form the core of my detecting arsenal. So there you go Low Tide - I fit your ML two-detector profile and am playing right into their hands on their plan to take over the world of detecting. The remainder of the herd will be thinned significantly (already begun) except that I will hang on to 2 or 3 other branded detectors for sentimental and a few practical reasons and so I cannot be accused of any fanboi behaviors on the forums. LOL.

I was just thinking about the awesome multi-connect feature provided by ML which enables you to connect up to 4 WM08's to a single Equinox Detector to facilitate learning the audio, teaching folks what different targets sound like, etc. It dawned on me that if you have the 800 and then bought three more of these WM08 modules for your friends you could, for less cost, just get an Equinox 600 and an additional set of third party wireless phones and still have money in your pocket. Wow. I guess they are not really encouraging folks to use the 4 x WM08 feature...

Elf - If you go to the Minelab Site and the Treasure Talk blog in which this announcement was made you will find a lot of great info on the Equinox here: https://www.minelab.com/usa/go-minelabbing/treasure-talk Steve H. has a compendium of ML Treasure Talk Blog information specifically about Equinox Multi IQ Technology here: http://www.detectorprospector.com/metal-detecting/minelab-multi-iq-technology-details-explained.htm This is also linked in the Equinox Essential Information sticky thread at the top of the forum: The information in question was contained in the the Equinox Technologies (Part 3) Treasure Talk Blog Post here: https://www.minelab.com/usa/go-minelabbing/treasure-talk/equinox-technologies-part-3 The Essential Information thread is like Ragu Spaghetti Information Sauce for the Equinox - "It's all in there." Steve is working on re-racking and organizing it for even easier access.

They shouldn’t worry about lost income to 3rd party coil manufacturers, either. If that is a concern, they could consider raising the price of the WM08.

Thinking of changing my handle to “The Unknown Detectorist”. Lol. Thanks for the props. Just trying to pay it forward. I want everyone to have as much fun detecting as I am having. Equinox has turned up the fun factor for me a few more notches.

Copper = 16 Silver = 18 GP = 8

Tim - I could make some crack about the sun shining off Ben's chrome dome, but I'll just congratulate you on the silver saves, instead.

I was wondering whatever happened to that CTX, Norm You don't know how glad I am that you were able to cancel. Not because the CTX is not a good detector, but it seemed awfully redundant to get a CTX AND Equinox. If you subsequently determined the Equinox was not "all that" after giving it a fair shake, that would be one thing, but it did not seem to be a good economic decision at the time with Equinox sight unseen in terms of what it was capable of doing vs. the higher priced CTX. And as you can see, you still have room to buy even more Equinoxes for the grand kids and still have money in your pocket (not to mention the clad finds you keep refilling your pockets with). HH

Why is GI Joe's name "Robert"?

Fight the good fight, Morris! We are pulling for your speedy recovery and it is good that we are periodically reminded that there are more important things in this world than Equinox waiting lists and complaining about on/off buttons, shaft wobble, pull tabs, and maximum coin depths. Thank you for your service.

Happiness is knowing that you have two digable signals under the coil sweep. Happened to me this weekend with a silver dime and a Williams Cleaner bullet about 10 - 12" away.

Me Like.

Aftermarket shaft or stock?

I know I am always going to buy something from Amazon eventually, so I just upload the Amazon cash to my account after a coinstar run. Great tip by Mitchel. It's second nature for me now so I forget to mention it to folks. No need to take the 10% coinstar cash hit.